Illuminated house number



Deg, 116, 1924.

C. J. MANVIILLE ILLUMINATED nouss NUMBER Filed March 26, 1923 ATTORNEY.

earr rates.-

enemas J. MANVILLE, or rnnranaronrs, INDIANA.

ILLUMINATED HO' USE NUMBER.

Gontinuation of application filed September 17, 1920, Serial No. 410,915. This application filed March 26,

' 1923. Serial No. 627,843.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. MANVILLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Illuminated House Number, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

This invention relates to the subject of numbering or otherwise identifying dwellings or 0t or buildings, by means ofastationar-y sign adapted to be illuminated at night, the invention being a development ofthat described in my application for Letters Patent filed September 17, 1920, Serial No. 410,- 915, the present application being a continua- 'tion of said prior application.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved sign, such as a number or a name, which shall be of simple and inexpensive construction and be substantial and durable.

Another object is to provide an efiicient house number of such construction as to be adapted to be cheaply illuminated at night.

A further object is to provide an improved sign for numbering or naming a house which shall be of such construction as to permit numbers or names to be readily changed at small cost, as in the case of re-numbering a house on a street or changing of occupants of the house.

With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in an improved compound number plate adapted to be illuminated, and an im roved holder therefor, the holder preferab y having an auxiliary sign arranged to be illuminated without additional expense therefor; and, the invention consists also further in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter particularly described and further defined in the accompanying claims.

Referring to the drawings,Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved house sign, arranged as it may be on the front of a house, a portion only of the house being shown; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the sign, approximately central thereof, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the house number; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal se tion of the compound number plate on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View showing particularly the holder body and the number plate assembly; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail reproducing the upper portion of Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a novel feature of sections of the number plate; and, Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional perspective view of the number plate assembly, on an enlarged scale. s

the different figures of the drawings similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts or features of construction herein referred to in detail.

The improved sign structure comprises a supporting bracket having a base plate 1 to be secured to the front of a building, an angle member 2 extending forward from the top of the base plate, and a head piece comprising relatively angular plates 3 and 4 integral with the angle member 2, there being an angle portion 5 at the junction of the plates 3 and 4. A sheet metal body part is provided which comprises two rear wall plates 6 and 7 that are connected together to form an angle 8 corresponding to the angle portion 5, the plates 6 and 7 preferably being composed of,a single sheet andare secured to the head plates 3 and 4 respectively. The back plates have narrow end plates 9 and 10 thereon respectively, from which flanges 11 and 12 extend respectively, each flange toward the other. A bottom plate 13 is provided which has rearward upwardly extendin flanges 14 and 15 to engage the outer si es of the back plates 6 and 7 re spectively, the back plates being arranged upon the bottom plate. The bottom plate has an upwardly extending flange 16 to engage the front of the flanges 11 and 12, and being adapted to assist in retaining the compound number plate. The number plate holder has a top plate 17 similar in shape to the bottom plate and is removably arranged upon the back plates, being provided with downwardly extending flanges 18 and 19 engaging the outer sides of the back plates, and a front flange 20 en aging the front of the flanges 11 and 12. T he various plates comprised in the holder are economically formed as stampings. Two, tie rods 21 and 22 are vertically arranged at suitable distances from the ends 9 and 10 respectively, and extend/through the bottom plate and the topplate and have suitable heads engaging the outer side of the bottom plate,

the heads preferably being in the form of eyes 23 and 23 to which a sign may be connected for support if desired. The upper ends of the tie rods are provided with knurled cap nuts 24 and 24 respectively, to engage the upper side of the top plate 17 to removably secure it in place.

The improved compound number plate comprises, as preferably constructed, two clear glass plates 25 and 26 that are arranged on the bottom plate and extend to the top plate and to the ends 9 and 10, being behind the flanges 16 and 20, and a suitable number of number sections 27, 28 have each a suitable character 29, such as a numeral. The number sections are opaque, being preferably composed of black paper from which the numeral or character is cut out to permit light rays to pass through the sections. Each section is rectangular and preferably has an ofi'set portion 30 at one edge which is overlapped by the next adjacent section, so that the over-lapping joints are slightly thicker than the body of the section and form in effect a contact rib to insure close fitting between the glass plates in order to prevent accidental shifting of the sections, particularly whenhandling the device. The inner {glass plate 26 might be frosted but preferably is clear glass, and a. back-ground sheet or plate 31 preferably is placed behind the number sections and may be composed of thin white paper, so that the number will be white in daytime and be illuminated at night, the paper being semi-transparent.

Preferably the compound number plate has.

a binding strip 32 extending around the edge thereof and having flanges or lips 33 and 34 glued or cemented to the glass plates, so that the assembly shall be held together when the number is made up according to the requirements of the house or building and is readily placed in' position in .the holder without disarrangement of the number sections.

The middle portion of the bottom plate 13 has'a suitable electric lamp socket 35 secured on the top thereof in which an electric lamp 36 is placed when the top plate 17 is removed from place, the socket having an electric circuit 37 connected therewith that leads out of the holder through the angle portions 5 and 8 of the bracket and the back of the holder and may be connected to any suitable source of electrical current, the current usually being suitably reduced to low. voltage so that a small and economical low volt- 7 age lamp may be used.

. upon the Preferably the top plate 17 has a small slot 38 therein, a frame base 39 is secured late 17 and'has a slot 40 therein corresponding to the slot 38 to permit light rays to pass upward from the lamp, the base plate 39 having a suitable front plate 41 fixed thereon that has an aperture 42 therein,

the plate 39 having also a back plate 43 thereon that is inclined and extends upward toward the front plate, being slightly elastic and presses a clear glass plate 44 against the front plate to hold it in place, the plate 44 being supported upon the base plate 39, and a suitable name card 45 is arranged between the glass plate and the back plate and is visible through the aperture 42 in the plate 44, being inclined over the slots 38 and 40 and illuminated by the light rays. When installing the device the angle member 2 of the supporting bracket may be slightly bent as may be desired to bring the number plate either in vertical arrangement or in an inclined position. It will be understood that the inner side of the back plates 6 and 7 may be advantageously coated with white enamel.

or other substance suitable for reflecting and difl'using the light from the lamp to all the sections of the number plate, the. relative angularity of the back plates aiding in a general diffusion of the light.

In practical use the current for the lamp may be switched-on at any time desired and obviously may be lefton to illuminate the number and the name during the whole night at small cost. The slot 38 incidentally serves as a ventilator without requiring a special ventilator opening in the parts of the number plate holder.

What I claim asnew is:

1. A house sign comprising a body part having two front flanges, a bracket secured to the body art, a bottom plate arranged beneath the ody part and having a front flange engaging the outer side of the two front flanges, a top plate arranged upon the body part and having a front flange-engaging the outer side of said two flanges, the top plate having a frame thereon in proximity to its front flange, a sectional number plate arranged upon the bottom plate and extending to the top plate and being retained behind all of said flanges, two tie rods arranged at the inner side of the nuinber plate and connected to the bottom and the top plates, the lower end of each rod having an eye ghereon, and a name plate supported bysaid rame.

2. A house number comprising a body part portions, the top plate having also a front flange engaging the outer sides of said narrow flanges, a compound number plate arranged between said bottom and top plates behind said front flanges and extending to said narrow end portions, and two tie rods arranged adjacent to said end portions respectively and secured to said bottom and top plates.

3. In an illuminated house number, the combination of a body part comprising two relatively angular back plates, a bottom plate engaging the lower edges of the back plates, a compound number plate uprightly supported upon the bottom plate opposite to said .back plates, a top plate arranged upon the topof the number plate and engaging the upper edges of said back plates, tie rods connected to the bottom plate and the top plate, a bracket having a head piece secured to said back plates, an electrical circuit extending through said head piece, and a lamp socket arranged in proximity to the inner sides of said back plates and connected with the electrical circuit.

4. In an illuminated house number, the

combination of a body part comprising two back plates connected together, a bottom plate connected to the back plates, a compound number plate supported upon the bottom plate, a top plate connected to the tops of the back plates and the number plate and having a slot therein, a lamp arranged in proximity to the top of the bottom plate and the inner sides of said back plates, a base plate secured upon the top plate and having a slot therein coinciding with the slot in said top plate, a frame plate integrally connected to the forward edge of said base plate and having an aperture therein, I an inclined plate integrally connected to the rearward edge of said base plate and extending upwardly towards said frame plate, and a glass plate supported upon said base plate rearward of the slot therein and extending upwardly to said frame plate to hold a name card against said inclined plate.

In testlmony whereof I afiix my signature on the 17th day of March, 1923.

CRLES J. MANVILLE. 

